Shock absorber



March ZU, 1:14a. P, w. THoRNHlLL 2,372,137

' saocx ABsoRBER A Findlay 24, 1943 2 sneetsfsneet 1 4o 15 Fxg. E 14 14' a9 g f 30 n Vl n n d"z`3 5 -g 91@ 5 41 i 5 #-13 i 24 E March 2G, 1945. P; w. fz-ORNHILL 2,372,137

sx-Iocx ABsoRER Filed )lay 24, v Sheets-Sheet 2 P11-5.4; fw.

Planted Mu. zo, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE snocx snsonnm Peter Wal-born Thornhill,

land. asignar to John Henry Onions, Coventry, Engiand Leamington Spa, Eng- Applieatlon Mn! 24. 1943. Serial No. 488,262 In Great Britain Ma! 11, 1942 This invention relates to shock absorbers and particularly to shock absorbing suspenden devices for vehicles inwhich a quantity o! liquid 1S used for hydraulically dampeningvthe movements of a pair of telescopic members connected respectively to the wheel mounting or equivalent and the vehicle chassis or equivalent, respectively.

It is the object of the invention to provide impmvements in such 'shock absorbing deviceswhereby augmented damping is obtained when vthe movement lof the parts exceedsla predetermined value, thus'rendering the device ekpccillly suitable for heavy vehicles and the like intended' According to the inventicn therein provided a meer s pmof edescoplc members deiininga working space of .varinu mum man-'annum una @meeuwen a un telescopic-msm aateameunynmmcm'neieuthe insaidotherwortingspaee.' ItwilLof-comae.'

beappcisted-that theecoii stroke refers to directinn'that the'stress in the 'esilient-means for'mppo'stingthenormsi iosldisbeing reduced.

forceexertedby-thesesilientmeanswhichsup- `A"ihe invention isilin'stx-ctedhyvrrsrvo'fA hxtheaccompaluhagdrawingginwhicht Hguielisaddeeleva'tionofoneconstruction ofteiescopieshockabsorber: Figure! isajcctionhl eievationofthc shock ahsorbershowninHg'nreLdrawntoalarger the recoil stroke when the wheel rebounds after having struck a bump.

Referring to Figure 1. the device comprises a cylinder il which is closed at its lower end by a plug ii having a lug i2 which is hushed for pivotal attachment to the axle or equivalent of 'the vehicie. The upper part of the device includes an outer tube I I into which the cylinder III is arranged to slide. the tube I3 constituting a dust shield connected with the plunger tube.

vwhich will be' hereinafter described. I The'upper end ofthe 'plunger tube is closed by avplug il having an upp er iixing lus il for, pivotal attachment to the vehicle body or equivalent. Thus ss the' wheel moves upwards and downwards relative to the vehicle body or equivaienttlle cylinder i0 Asiidesinto and 'out of the'tuhe |l in a telescopic limovunentoftheshoek'absnrhingdeviceinsuch'a manner; it will be noted that the lugs i! and Il construction of-the'device-is .2 It will beseen that lhownln psr-ted by-s distance which is sughuy neuer thsntheaxinllensthofthe portionlaofthe bore. In order to support the damping valve when.

members in a truly coaxial position when both are disposed above the upper limit of the portlcn 20a a plurality of longitudinal guide mem; bers 28 are provided, the inwardly facing surlaces of which virtually constitute extensions ot the surface of the bore Il. Excessive downward movement of the damping valve members 22 and 2l is prevented by a stop ring 2l fitted into the lowerV part of the bore u. At its upper end the axial rod 24 is iltted with a control piston 30. this being freely slidable within the plunger tube il and having in a groove at its periphery a packing ring Si which is not completely airtight; the packing ring Il is purposely arranged to allow a slight leakage of air past the control piston 3B Ln order to allow said piston to function in the manner which is fully described in my above-mentioned application.

An annular recoil valve member $2 fitted with a fluid-tight packing ring 38 is arranged to slide freek in the upper part of the cylinder I0, but is normally urged downwards by a coiled compression Il into engagement with a cir- I8.' one of which is seeninFllgux-e'l Thestops Si reconveniently il. The reason for the shock absorbprevent relative rotation beinrnu aimerez-the u a More', plm g the spaces 42 and 41 and tend to maintain the damping valve members 22 and 23 respectively Just above and just below the portion 20a oi' the bore 2n; at the same time the pressures of the air in the spaces I9 and 4I become substantially equalised by the slow leakage which is permitted past the control piston 3l. However. when the wheel encounters a bump the su`dden upward movement of the cylinder lll causes liquid to be expelled from the space u, and this liquid forces upwards the damping valve member 23 until the latter reaches a position above the bore 20a, the liquid thereafter ilowing freely into the plunger space 42 and causing the compression of the air in the space 4i to be increased. This rise of pressure is, of course, substantially instantaneous and the air is therefore unable to now suillciently rapidilv past the packing 3| to increase correspondingly the pressure of air in the control chamber It: instead thcontrol piston lll is urged upwards by the increased pressure below it, andthus the control rod 2l is lifted to a position in which the lower damping valve member I! blocks the bore Ila. The al! pressurewitlunthespaoell isthereforeprevmted from acoentuating the recoil stroke or downmember 23; colmteraets the in v .pressure uponthe oontrol'piston 8 *Thus the damping valve device- 21,18 closely regulates the return ot liquid from theplunger space l2 to' the cylinderspaee It, so producingsmooth running with little bounce il'hel slight leakage permittedpasttheeontrolplstonlby'thehackauxiliaryspaee isreduoedand liqllid--ls forced outoi'nidspaeeintotheplungerspaeel2.0on

siderable or opposition' is. however.

encountered by said liquid. as. of course, the

pressure oftheairinthespace 4| hastobeovercome. In addition the spring $4 haslto be compressed. but this is relatively light. As a result of bringing the auxiliary space u into action the recon stroke is rapidly brought to on end.

after which the shock absorbing. device again extends and resumes its normal operating length.

ber 32e, which' latter is in the form of a flat annular washer. The recoil valve member 82e is urged against the shoulder by the coiled cornpressionspring c and it has a freely slidable fltI both within the enlarged portion lob and along the plunger llc At a short distance from its lower end the plunger is formed with a` bore Zlib with whichthe damping valve members 22e and 23e co-operate. The lower end of the plunger llc is closed by a wall II and the space between this wall and the damping valve device 22e, 23e communicates with an annular space a surrounding the plunger 'llc by way of a plurality of radial passages Zic. The lower end of the plunger itc is formed with a piston head i9a which is provided with a substantially liquidtight packing Il sliding within the cylinder llc. The piston head 19a has longitudinal passages 4l which normally form a means of communication between the cylinder space c and the annular space "a, Also the upper surface 4I of the piston head Isa is plane so that as the plunger of the flat recoil valve member 32e, which latter then closes the passages I8.

'I'he action of the device shown in Figure 4 is substant!ally the same as the preceding example.

The lower end of the plunger llc is normally in free4 communication with the cylinder space- 43e by way of theradial passages Zic and the passages l in the piston head I9a. When, however. a

recoil stroke of excessive magnitude occurs the piston head Isa engages the recoil valve member 32o and lifts the latter away from the shoulder 35a. During continued movement of the plunger the liquidy from the auxilary` space c cannot escape through the passages Il to the cylinder llc and is therefore obliged'to flow through the.

radial passages 2Ic into the .plunger llc, thus additionally increasing the pressure of the air in piston of the form described in my patent application Serial No. `471.484, and in this 'case the' operation of the recoil valve member is directly hollow plunger Ild is slidably' mounted in the cylinder lod as before and the lower end' of said plunger is formed with a piston head IIb having a substantially liquid-tight packing ring ll. Also the piston head is formed with a bore ne through -which the damping valve members 22d and 23d are slidable.. Adjacent .the upper end ofthe bore`l 2lc the plunger is formed with a truste-conical l. ner' and thus closes the bore 20c.

um l 3 recoil valve member Ilafin the form of a disc having a chamfered lower edge while its upper part is provided with arms which slide within the plunger lld. 'I'he recoil valve member nu is secured firmly to the control rod 24 so that the latter is centralised by the armsjl. When the control piston In is moved downwards to its full extent the recoil valve member 32a engages with the seating Il in a substantially liquid-tight man- The auxiliary space d surrounding the plunger lad is. filled -with damping liquid. which latter'communicates through radial passages 62 with the interior of the plunger.

ll The operation of the shock absorbing device l shown in Figure 5 during normal running is the same as in the precedingr examples, exceptthat. the liquid which is contained within the auxiliary space dis always in communication with the ilo plunger space 42d and therefore affects the characteristics ofthe device. When a heavy shock vis received and the plunger is approaching the end of the extending or -recoil stroke,l the reduction in pressure which occurs in the space lld of the 25 plunger causes the compressed air within the control space 39 to force down the control piston 30 until the recoil valve member 32a blocks the upper -1 end of the bore 20c. During the recoil stroke the auxiliary space d is, of course, being reduced in a0 volume but in normal running the liquid therefrom can return through the radial passages -52 and past the damping valve device 22d, 23d to the cylinder space 43d. When, "however, the recoil valve 32a closes, this flow of liquid is stopped and therefore the liquid rejected from the auxiliary do effect of rapidly damping out the recoil stroke. rises said surface is engaged by the under surface With liquid damped telescopic suspension devices such as those illustrated it is desirable'ili most cases that the axial load on the shock abmoreover that the load for each point in the shortening stroke shouldv have a particular relationshi/pfto the load at the same point during the lengthening or recoil stroke. For the efficient operation of the shock absorber it is desirable that the load-carrying thrust (exerted on account of the compressed air or other resilient means) for any given position of the plunger relative to the cylinder, should, during the compression of 55 the shock absorber, be greater than the normal static load,v and moreover the thrust at the same.

point in the following extension or rebound stroke should be less than the said normal static value. Preferably also for any given position of the cyl- .',0 inder and plunger tubes the amount by which the thrust during shortening is greater than the statief load should be substantially equal to the amount by vwhich the thrust at the same point in the recoil stroke is less than the Astatic load. 'I'his es relationship can be obtained in the arrangement l dependent upon said damping valve device. The

10 outside of the plunger a. and the internal crosssectional area of the plunger space 42 (marked B). If the cross-sectional area of the bore 20c is bthen thezdesired 'relationship-is givenvsby the` formula a/A=2b/B. Thus if thecross-sectional gung l.. whieh is adopted to bemand by a area-A of the cylinder is equal to one-and-a-half ventio'n is capable 'forms of oleo-pneumatic shock absorbing devices `and that'the arrangements which have been detimes the .cross-sectional area d of the plunger, then the cross-sectional 'area b of the bore 20c is preferably substantially equal to three-quarters of the internal plunger area B.

. It will, of course, be understood thatthe inof being applied to .various scribed are given merely by way of example.

What I claim is: l. A shocirI absorbing device comprising va cylinder, a hollowplunger sliding therein, the outside diameter of the plunger being substantially smaller than the interior of the cylinder so 'as to'leave an annular auxiliary space surround- -fasra-isv plunger, damping liquid in tney-cylinder, the

plunger, and the auxiliary space., resilient means i in the plunger placing said damping liquid under pressure, a damping valve device in the piston 'head controlled by fluid pressure within the plunger, an opening in the plunger wall comn municating with the annular space, and a recoil flo valve ymember operatively connected with the damping valve device to close the passage 'through said damping valve device when the shock absorbing device approaches its fully extended condition. 'i

7. A shock absorbing device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the damping valve devicecomprises ing the plunger, damping liquid in the cylinder 'and extendinginto the annularfspace, iiowrestricting means within saidplunger, said plunger having` openings therethrough normally estab- ,lishing communication between said ilow restrictlng means and the cylinder and 'annular auxiliary spaces, an annular-recoil valve member slidable in the cylinder and normally urged resilientlyagainst a stop, andon the plunger a projection which is arranged to engage the recoil valve member as the end of an extension stroke lis approached and which, in conjunction with fsaid recoil valve'member, isolates said annular space fromthe cylinder space, said projection thereafter causing the recoil valve member to? bemoved along the cylinder with the plunger as the said extension stroke continues, whereby the vliquid can escape .from the `auxiliary space only against the resistance of the flow restricting means'which resistance counteracts further extension of the shock absorbing device.

2. A shock absorbing device as claimed in claim l, wherein-the 'stop against which the recoil valve member is normally positioned comprises a circumferential series of projections directed= inwardly-from the wall of the cylinder.

3. 'A shock absorbing device as claimed in claim -l, wherein the stop against which the recoil valve member is normally positioned comprises a circumferential series of projections directed. inwardly from the wall of the cylinder, and where'- rin the inner end of the plunger is formed with a plurality of radial guiding projectionsv spaced aroundits circumference to engage slidably with the cylinder and to pass between the stop projectionsl upon said cylinder. v

v4. A shock absorbing device as claimed in claim `plunger comprises a control piston within the outer end-of the plunger,- an axial rod reduced to the control piston and extending through a constriction adjacent the inner end of the plunger,

and a pair of valve members mounted upon the rod so as to be v5. A shock absorbing device as claimed in claim i, wherein a Vcoiled compression spring'disposed within the annular space bears against the annular recoil valve member t maintain it normally in engagement with the stop on the cylinder.' y f 6. A shock absorbing device comprising a cyl- Amovable within' thesaid constriction. f f

.1, wherein the flow restricting means within the inder, a hollow plunger yextending thereinto and having at its inner end a piston `head slidably engaging the cylinder wa1l. a fluid-tight packing vupon the cylinder and engagingwlth the plunger,

. which latter is substantially smaller in diameter l thanv the cylinder so that an annular auxiliary space oi' variable volume is provided around the a control piston disposed-within the plunger at the outer end part thereof, an axial rodfroml the. control piston extending through a constriction at the inner end of the plimger, and a pair of damping valve members having alimited sliding movement upon' the rod so as to control the liquid passage through the constriction in a manner depending upon the position oi' the control piston.

e.4 A shock absorbing device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the damping valve device comprises a'control piston disposed within the plunger' at the outer end part thereof, an axial rod from the 'control piston extending through a constriction at' the inner end. of the plunger, and a pair of damping valve members having a limited sliding movementupon the rod so as to, control the liquid passage ,through the constriction in a manner depending upon the position ofthe control ipiston, .and wherein the said recoil valve member is provided upon thel axial rod and serves to close the constriction when the control piston moves as far as a predetermined positionA in ii4 direction towards the inner end of the plunger. f

thus causing liquid ejected from the auxiliary Aspace during lengtheningof the shock absorber,

device to be forced through the said opening or openings into the plunger against the force of the fluidpressure in said plunger.

9. A hydraulic shock vabsorber comprising a cylinder, a plunger tube mounted therein with clearance to define therewith an annular work-I ing space between the plunger and cylinder normally in commimication with the latter, damp-g ing valve means in said tube for controlling liquid flow between its interior and the cylinder space, aA piston also in said tube, resilient means intermediate said piston and the liquid in said tube, said resilient means acting on the liquid insaid plunger tube and on bothvsides of said piston for supporting said plunger tubeand said cylinder in one relative position under static load conditions.' means connecting said 'damping valve means and said'piston to cause the former tol move in response to fluctuations in the ,load on the said resilient means, the connecting means holding the damping valve vin substantially closed position under static load conditions, and means responsive to relative extension from normal position of said plunger tub'e and cylinder of a predetermined magnitude for isolatingl said annular working space from said cylinder space to cause Vthe annular working space to discharge against the resistance of said resilient means. '10. A- shock absorbing device comprising a cylinder, `il. hollow plunger sliding therein, the u outside diameter of the plunger being substantially smaller the interior ofthe cylinder so as t0. leave auxiliary space vsurand an annular recoil valve member slidable in the cylinder and ynormally urged reailiently cER'JzIF.Icli'lf'Ev oF CORRECTION.

Patent no. 2,372,157..

PETER wmofm THORNHILL.

against a stop. the projection on the plunger bein! adapted to engage the recoil valve member as the end of an extension stroke is reached, said projection and annular recoil valve member coacting to isolate the annular auxiliary s working space from the cylinder space wherebyy the liquid'can escapefrom the annular auxiliary space only into the inner end o! the plunger against the resistance ot the iiow restricting ,l

means weich resistance counteracts li'urthei' extension oi' the shock absorbing device.

' PETER WARBORN I'HORNHIIL It Ais. hereby certified Verror appear; in thel printed'specification of the above numbered [patent requiring correction as follows Pago3., first columna, line 70, for "ring "1;7'? read '--fring ldn; page il, first column, line 56, claim l for "reduced" breadv `secu red and ent should be read with this vcorrection'therein that the samey may conform that the and Letter-arat- ,t me .record or the' enge 1x1- the Patent off19e.

, signed and. sealed this lztjn day er JmL-ATB. 1915;

l (soenk.

YLeslie Frazer ...Acting Commissioner of latente.

and an annular recoil valve member slidable in the cylinder and ynormally urged reailiently cER'JzIF.Icli'lf'Ev oF CORRECTION.

Patent no. 2,372,157..

PETER wmofm THORNHILL.

against a stop. the projection on the plunger bein! adapted to engage the recoil valve member as the end of an extension stroke is reached, said projection and annular recoil valve member coacting to isolate the annular auxiliary s working space from the cylinder space wherebyy the liquid'can escapefrom the annular auxiliary space only into the inner end o! the plunger against the resistance ot the iiow restricting ,l

means weich resistance counteracts li'urthei' extension oi' the shock absorbing device.

' PETER WARBORN I'HORNHIIL It Ais. hereby certified Verror appear; in thel printed'specification of the above numbered [patent requiring correction as follows Pago3., first columna, line 70, for "ring "1;7'? read '--fring ldn; page il, first column, line 56, claim l for "reduced" breadv `secu red and ent should be read with this vcorrection'therein that the samey may conform that the and Letter-arat- ,t me .record or the' enge 1x1- the Patent off19e.

, signed and. sealed this lztjn day er JmL-ATB. 1915;

l (soenk.

YLeslie Frazer ...Acting Commissioner of latente. 

